VATICAN - Benedict XVI, in the audience with participants of the international congress of the Pontifical Academy for Life: “the firm and constant ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, in keeping with the centuries-long teaching of the Church.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Close by the Incurable Sick Person and the Dying: Scientific and Ethical Aspects,” was the theme for the international Congress held by the Pontifical Academy for Life, for the occasion of their 14th General Assembly. Speaking to participants, in an audience on February 25, Pope Benedict XVI reminded them that every earthly life that ends, is a “new birth and a renewed existence, offered by the Risen One to those who do not voluntarily oppose themselves to His Love. Death concludes the experience of earthly life, but through death there opens for each of us, beyond time, the full and definitive life. ... For the community of believers, this encounter between the dying person and the Source of Life and Love represents a gift that has a universal value, that enriches the communion of the faithful. This fact should be of interest to the entire community, not only to close family members, but also others who have known the dying person. No believer should die alone and abandoned.”
Not only the Christian community, “committed to the accompaniment and celebration, with its members, in the mystery of suffering, death, and the dawn of new life,” but also the entire society, through its health care and civil institutions, “is called to respect the life and dignity of the seriously ill and the dying.” The Pope pointed out the duty of health care institutions “to express the solidarity of love, and to safeguard and respect human life in every moment of its earthly development, especially when it is ill or in its terminal stages.” “In more concrete terms, this means ensuring that every person in need finds the necessary support through appropriate treatments and medical procedures - identified and administered using criteria of therapeutic proportionality - while bearing in mind the moral duty to administer (on the part of doctors) and to accept (on the part of patients) those means for preserving life which, in a particular situation, may be considered as 'ordinary.' In turn, those therapies with significant levels of risk or that may reasonably be judged to be 'extraordinary', recourse thereto may be considered as morally acceptable, but optional. Furthermore, it will always be necessary to ensure that everyone has the treatment they require, and that families tried by the sickness of one of their members receive support, especially if the sickness is serious or prolonged.”
The Pope expressed his desire that in the work norms, there be a specific recognition of family rights “during the terminal illness of their loved one,” because “a supportive and humanitarian society cannot ignore the difficult situations of the families who, sometimes over the course of a long period of time, must carry the weight of at-home assistance for seriously ill...In a complex society, heavily influenced by the notions of productivity and economic demands, weak persons and poor families run the risk, in moments of economic difficulty and/or illness, of being overwhelmed.”
In the large cities, there is increasing number of elderly and people who live on their own, especially in moments of serious illness and as they near death. “In these circumstances, the pressures towards euthanasia increase, especially when a utilitarian view of people has become established. Once again, I would like to remind all of the firm and constant ethical condemnation of all forms of direct euthanasia, in keeping with the centuries-long teaching of the Church.”
At the end of his speech, the Holy Father expressed his desire that “the synergetic efforts of civil society and of the community of believers must ensure not only that everyone is able to live in a dignified and responsible way, but also that they can face moments of trial and of death in the finest condition of fraternity and solidarity, even where death comes in a poor family or a hospital bed...offering and being a witness to solidarity and charity towards every person that suffers, especially those approaching death. Society, for its part, must ensure due support to families who undertake to care in the home, sometimes for long periods, sick members who are afflicted with degenerative conditions, ...or who need particularly costly assistance.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 26/2/2008; righe 52, parole 692)